Mortimer Haskell is a very special person, in more ways than one.
Steve Edgar Haskell here.
You may not remember me, but I wrote about my uncle, Mortimer Haskell, once in an earlier story called "My Uncle Is Not Like Most..."; and it was all about his disabilities and some of his peculiar quirks and stuff; and the problems our family faces in having a person like my uncle living with us.
My uncle just turned 36 on Christmas Eve, and he is still his happy, jovial self. He also is still working, and every week he picks up his check and proudly shows off his "many dollars" to people. He works at the sheltered workshop not far from where he lives; and he really loves and enjoys his job very much.
My uncle has Down's syndrome. Simply put, that means he is mentally handicapped, and he acts more like a five-year-old child than a man of 36. He plays with his toys, and he loves to draw, paint, and generally make a mess out of the house. He also looks unusual because he is shorter than a lot of men his age, and he is as round as a beachball. He has slanted eyes, a flat nose, a round, moon-shaped face, and sparse, thin hair that is now just starting to turn grey at the temples. He also has stubby fingers and toes, and he waddles like a duck when he walks. In addition, he has heart problems, and sometimes he goes into the hospital when his heart acts up; and that is always a very scary time for our family. He sometimes has trouble with his breathing at night, and he has to wear oxygen; and I am always so scared that he is going to quit breathing on us or die. His heart just isn't that strong.
My little sister, Wren, who will be seven years old in a few weeks, is especially close to Uncle Mortie because besides being her uncle, he is like a built-in playmate for her, and they always have a lot of fun together. They love to play "hide-and-seek" or "Star Search" or catch together; and they always have the best time. Me, I could really care less than get involved in their silly, childish games; but I will admit that it IS fun watching them laugh and having a good time.
Uncle Mortie is my dad's brother; and the reason he is now living with us is because the place he was at closed; and there was nowhere else he could go, so we took him in. Ever since, our lives haven't been the same, and there were a lot of problems at first; but as we got used to having Uncle Mortie around, and he got used to us, well, things just sorta' fell into place, and now he is an important part of our family, and we would do anything for him to make his life a lot easier, if not, a lot happier. Still, it IS hard having an adult in the house who acts more like a child, and it IS embarrassing when I have to explain to my friends (or other kids) WHY my uncle is the way he is.
Hello Karen,
You have the facility to be able to paint an excellent word picture that leads the reader gently through the subject matter. Telling the story concisely and with feelong. Well written Regards John W
You are so compassionate in
your writes Karen! Bless your
heart! I liked this one! I bet you have to have
a file to keep every character strait!
Job well done! Into my library this goes again!
In Christ,
Becca
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